


Behind Enemy Lines

by CallistaGseran



Series: To Save a Galaxy... [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Jedi, Jedi Black Ops, Jedi Training (Star Wars), Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21771667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallistaGseran/pseuds/CallistaGseran
Summary: After the events inTo All things, An End, Xan and his new padawan Sharon begin to question why the Imperials showed up at of all places the frozen planet Rhen Var. Incomplete. Co-authored by: Xan Qenadius.
Series: To Save a Galaxy... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569049





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Star Wars and associated material contained within works produced or published by LucasFilm Ltd., or its subsidiaries remains the sole property, copyright, and trademark of said entities. No profit is being made from this work. All characters contained within this work are original (with the exception of appearances by some canon characters), and remain the intellectual property of their originating writers.
> 
> The Cataani people and all related information is the brainchild of Steffan Karrde. All characters used are used with the permission of their originating writer.
> 
> Mando'a language © Karen Traviss and LFL.

A week after the hectic events on Rhen Var and what had happened to Arie and Myk-Ron, Xan sat in his office in the Intelligence center, going over files of new recruits to the intelligence service. He purposely kept one file for last, however. The young female apprentice that distinguished herself under his command on Rhen Var. The one he took as his first padawan learner. After getting through the rest of the files and setting alpha level clearances for the rest of them, he finally brought up the file of his padawan.

_Name: Sharon Mohren._

_Age: 14._

_" Padawan Mohren has shown a marked aptitude in mapreading, tracking, and other skills that would suit her well for the Intelligence division ..... Her saber skills are passable, but with more training, I feel she would be well suited for Soresu ..... While a studious student, Padawan Mohren is very quiet and reserved. She seems to prefer working alone to working with groups. This could be a problem area later... Padawan Mohren is highly detail-oriented and quite adept at solving puzzles. This analytical skill would serve her well in the Intelligence field ...."_

"Hmmm" Xan murmured aloud. He had to admit while quiet and introspective sorts were usually better in some more sensitive areas, if Sharon was to work well with him she would have to be brought out of her shell. Soresu for blade skills would go along with that reserved part of her personality. And that could raise a problem. He had to admit though the mental skills she had on hand were critical skills that he could use and mold. Without bothering to close the file, he opened a Temple wide comm. "Apprentice Sharon Mohren, report to the Intelligence center for briefing. Apprentice Sharon Mohren to Intelligence for briefing. Thank You." He continued to go over her file including her academic records while he waited for her arrival.

* * *

Sharon had been working on an assignment for her Astrogation course when the summons had sounded over the Temple-wide comm system. She flushed, and closed her book reader, putting it on the shelf as she rose from the study carrel in her quarters. The voice had belonged to Master Qenadius. The thought of him in his armor put the faint sensation of butterflies in her stomach. With a sigh, she stood and smoothed her tunic before she left, moving quickly through the corridors until she stood outside his office. Nervously, she brushed her brown hair away from her face. If one looked closely, they would have seen a faint scattering of freckles across her nose. Her brown eyes were bright. Bouncing on her toes a few times, she took a couple of deep breaths before she pressed the admittance key.

"Ahh, Apprentice," Xan said as she walked into the main lobby of the center. "Astrogation can wait a bit. Please come to my office, I have some questions for you before we get started on other things." The whole time he had been wearing his helmet, his ploy was to get her or keep her slightly frazzled to determine her character.

Sharon nodded, letting out a breath as she looked over at him. Something about the armor left her with goosebumps. Her eyebrow rose slightly as he mentioned the homework she had just been working on. "Certainly.... _Sir_." She'd almost addressed him as _Master_ , but remembered at the last moment, that he didn't particularly like the title. She followed him into the office, settling into the chair across from his desk, clasping her fingers together in her lap to keep from fidgeting.

Xan waited for her to sit down and noticed how she chose to sit. _'Fingers laced, she's on edge good.'_ he thought and mentally smiled. He motioned to the holo file hovering in the air above his desk as he spoke. "I've been reading this file very closely for the last little while and I'm intrigued. Top 3% in mathematics, Top 5% in languages, working on an Astrometrics degree. However little to no field action previous to Rhen Var. No social activities or even friends. Is there an explanation behind this?"

Sharon's cheeks flushed. "There is, sir." Her voice was quiet, but could still be heard well enough. "I...uhm.... don't get along with people well." She fidgeted a little. "They make fun of me because I'm so good at math. I just..... I like learning," she admitted, her gaze hovering somewhere between his visor and the wall above his head. "I've had difficulty with learning some of the saber work and hand to hand techniques, and...well...." She sighed. "I think, that I was sent to Rhen Var for that reason...." She shrugged, feeling as if she were tripping over her words.

Xan raised an eyebrow at her last statement. The council did do that from time to time, sending fresh apprentices into the field of battle while all previous indications would peg that certain apprentice for more scholarly activities. Sharon's performance, as was noted by the council was the sort of thing that they were hoping for. Xan saw what she was capable of himself, her file only showed she was limiting herself. Afraid to step on toes. But Rhen Var, proved that she worked better if she was allowed to break free from those barriers. Xan sighed audibly and looked at Sharon. "The Jedi teach restraint, yes. But too much restraint kills the initiative. It was your initiative that caught my attention at Rhen Var.Frankly, it seems you felt more freedom there. "

Sharon flushed. "It was......invigorating. I can't explain it. I felt more....at home doing that than I think maybe I have amongst all my books here." She chewed her lip for a moment. "I.... was able to kind of put things into place. For me, everything has a pattern and a purpose. I....saw things in a way there that just...made _sense_." she shrugged, feeling that her words were an inadequate description.

"You broke your chains and your self-imposed meaning of restraint and reacted naturally is what you did Sharon," Xan said a bit harshly, but like a teacher pounding in an important lesson. "You can't cut yourself off from others, events or anything else. a Jedi's mindset must be in the present, accepting all and responding to all in a way that flows with the force. Not restrictive." Now was the moment he built to, it was time to see if she had some fire under there or not. "All I see here is statistics and not a Jedi." He said while he thought _'All right girl, time to snap at me.'_

Sharon blinked, and when her eyes opened again, it was as if they were even brighter than before. She sputtered for a moment in surprise. "You..... have no idea what it's like? _Do you_?" Her tone was soft, but there was a flinty edge to it that hadn't been there before. She was visibly trying to regain control, but everything just came bubbling to the surface. "You think it's _easy_ trying to find someone who understands that you find it fun to spend hours on puzzles?" She stopped for a moment, and almost succeeded in stopping her next words, which came out even softer.

"I was five when the Jedi found me... I started freaking my parents out because I started tearing apart the electronics in the house. I could.... _see_ what was wrong with them. They thought I was crazy. But I always knew. What would _you_ do if your parents and all their friends made like you were cute, but inside they were thinking you were some...... _freak_? When I came here, I was so traumatized I couldn't talk for... months. You know how they finally got me to talk? One of the kids handed me a toy. It was broken, and I fixed it....." She stopped and took a ragged breath, her fingers curled into the fabric of her tunic. _"And you wonder why people scare me..."_

Xan took this in and started laughing, long and hard. And he noticed Sharon bristle even more till he opened himself to her and still continued to laugh. He reached up and pulled off his helmet, which if she had paid attention to her studies on Mandalorians she would know that was significant. He sat there looking at her, still laughing but with joy and understanding in his eyes.

He finally got a grip on his amusement and toggled the computer to go to voice mode. It was time to do this symbolic action, and to show her exactly what she had accomplished. "Computer: Recognize apprentice Sharon Mohler, as an agent of the Intelligence service this day. Set information clearances to Alpha 1 priority and mark her as apprenticed under Xan Qenadius. Authorization code Qenadius Omega-Epsilon-Delta 4-5-9." He looked her in the eyes and then said to the computer "Acknowledge."

Sharon gasped, her eyes widening as Xan reached up and pulled off his helmet. She knew that a Mandalorian didn't do such lightly. And his laughter... _Force_ , it made her angry until she realized why...... Her eyes went as big as saucers at his next words, and she looked about ready to faint. Sharon opened her mouth, and finally was able to summon words. _"You did that on purpose....."_ But there wasn't an edge there anymore. She just stared at him, as if by looking in his eyes she could read him. She finally relaxed, at least a little. "So......what now.....?" she asked.

Xan chuckled again. "So it's about bloody time you got out of your shell and started kicking _shebs_ and becoming the Jedi I know you can be," he said in a jocular manner. The General, the wisecracking Jedi was back, just like he was on Rhen Var. "Time for you to let others in and become stronger and also time for you to help me out in this mess we find ourselves in." He looked at her long and hard but gone was the harshness of the test. " Now that you have my level of clearance you can go over my file and see for yourself how similar in things we are. But that can be done in your leisure, something you need more of by the way." He got up and moved to a small counter area to the side of the office. "While you are my apprentice, you have permission to speak your mind at all times, unless you get an order. Can I get you a refreshment?"

"Please.." Her eyes had gone huge again and her cheeks faintly flushed when he'd mentioned reading _**his** _file. "I'll have tea or juice, whichever you have. Not really a fan of caf..." She made a face but grinned when she noticed the look on his face. She tilted her head slightly. "What _mess_ would that be..?"

He poured a cup of _behot_ for Sharon and got himself a cup of caf before he returned to the desk, placing down Sharon's _behot_ first. "The mess of what in the name of the _Manda_ were Imperial commandos doing on Rhen Var in the first place; and how they avoided the Sith. I've got some theories but I want to know what you think. "

Sharon nodded her thanks, murmuring a soft " _Vor'e_..." and noticed his reaction with a faint grin of her own. After a sip of the warm liquid, Sharon chewed her lip for a moment. "Well. I do know that the borders in that region have been a lot more active. Like they're testing the waters so to speak. The Remnant has been rather reclusive for the past.. twenty years or so, from what I've read. What interest they'd have in Rhen Var is anyone's guess. If they're anything like the Empire of old, they have no liking for Force users." She frowned. "If that's the case though... why would they be on a planet full of them..... maybe scouting it for a base and using the battle as a cover?" She shook her head at her own thought. "No, they'd been there longer than that. That Captain knew his way around."

Xan smirked a bit. "I'm as interested in knowing why a whole squad was detained and left _with_ their weapons. And what appeared to be no attempt on the part of this squad to use the weapons to break out." He scratched his chin. "And we don't even know what division this squad was in. Nor the warlord that commands them."

Sharon frowned. "The only way they could have been left intact was....." she shook her head, but it was the only thing that made sense. "To act as a diversion for us... but that would mean that they were working _with_ the Sith. Why would they possibly do that?" She swirled her mug, and stared down into the dark liquid as if trying to divine the answer from it.

Xan growled a little. "Right, now your guess is as good as mine. Which brings me to your first assignment. Do you recall overhearing any of the rat cans say the XO's name by any chance?"

In reply, Sharon's eyes drifted closed. Slowly. she ran through the battle in her mind, paying close attention to when any of them spoke. her mouth quirked at Xan's term for them, but it was apt. It was a few quiet minutes before she frowned, but nodded. " _Raske_..."

Xan nodded and motioned for her to use his computer console. "I want you to go over every file on every division of Imperial troops listed and find this Raske's division and Warlord. Since your slicing skills are better than mine.." he drew a smirk from Sharon at that. "Yeah yeah, later. Meanwhile, see what you can find that I can't. in the meantime, I'll get on the blower to the Old folks and the Sergeant at Arms and get the _Par'jila_ cleared for travel."

Sharon grinned when he called the Council the Old Folks. Shaking her head, she then nodded and slid into the chair behind his desk. Within moments, she was up to her ears in coding, focusing almost entirely on the task. Absently, she reached for the mug of _behot_ , brushing a few wayward strands of brown hair from her face as she did so. It took her over two hours to find something, but it was better than nothing. All she'd been able to find was a garbled fragment of a document ordering the Delta squad of the 72nd intelligence command to Rhen Var. The portion containing the actual orders was damaged beyond repair.

* * *

Meanwhile, Xan commed Steffan and to his surprise found him in his side chamber adjacent to the Council room. "Did _Cal'ika_ clear you to be doing work or are you trying to get her _shebs_ in a knot just for fun's sake?" he said with an eyebrow raised at the Cataani. Xan preferred using holo comms when he could and found that the others after a bit grew used to keeping their holo transceivers on.

Steffan chuckled. _"She's cleared me for desk work.... nothing strenuous yet. I've still got to let my ribs heal."_ He winced slightly _"Myk sure did a number on me himself when he tried to heal me."_ Steffan's voice was awed. Then he shook himself. _"What can I do for you?"_

" I need the _Par'jila_ cleared for Intelligence work; no flight plan logged due to sensitivity of course. Remember us telling you about that squad of rat cans on Rhen Var I ran into along with my new Padawan?"

 _"I can take care of that."_ Steffan frowned slightly. _"I do. You have a lead?"_ he asked, his face brightening somewhat as Xan mentioned _his_ Padawan.... not; _'the Apprentice who assisted me'._ " _When were you wanting to leave...? I can pass along a message to Callista if you don't see her before you go..."_

"I may have something Steffan, depends if Sharon can find it first or we do it the hard way. But either way, I'm curious as to why an Imperial squad shows up behind Sith lines with no fatalities or indeed signs of battle. As for _Cal'ika_ , I'm comming her next. That is unless Althea hasn't run her ragged."

Steffan chuckled. _"Are you suggesting that she can't keep up with her own Padawan...?"_ he asked as he grinned. Then he sobered. _"Indeed. I'd like to know the answer to that as well..."_

Xan nodded and sighed. "Well that's what we're going to find out, I'll report in as I can, scrambled channels. Meanwhile don't go overboard in work, if Jade won't kill you for you hurting yourself with it, Cal'ika will." When Steffan laughed again he smiled "Qenadius out." and closed the comm. Time to find out if Sharon's tech skills did the job.


	2. Chapter 2

Sharon looked up, rubbing her eyes from staring at the screen so intently. "I've found.... _something_. It's only a fragment, but maybe it will help..." She sighed and leaned back, working her shoulders a little bit to loosen them up before she took a sip of _behot_. Then she pointed to the information on the screen. All she'd been able to find was a garbled fragment of a document ordering the Delta squad of the 72nd intelligence command to Rhen Var. The portion containing the actual orders was damaged beyond repair.

Xan was about to comm Callista when Sharon's discovery snapped his mind to attention. He picked up his caf mug and padded his way back to the desk. He looked at the information and scowled slightly, a trace of fatigue evident. "The 72nd intelligence command..never heard of them. Something new?"

Sharon shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck absentmindedly. "I'm not sure. It's either a new group or one that was undercover until now.... though that begs the question why I was even able to find this if that squad was indeed black ops. Normally, their security would be better..." She trailed off, flushing and fidgeted.

"Just cause they work with Intelligence doesn't mean that they were indeed listed as black ops. Remember NR intelligence has well-known divisions themselves, none of them on the surface appear to be black op units." He took a sip of caf and sighed. "Got anything from the NR database concerning this unit?"

Sharon frowned, and reached for her own mug without looking, bringing it to her lips again before she answered. "Not much, I'm afraid. There is one small note about them.... in relation to one of the NR's recent military campaigns.... looks like they appeared there as they did on Rhen Var. Like they been... placed to misguide those involved." She frowned more. "From what I know of the Remnant, they aren't as....expansionist as the Empire was. So why would they be sticking their noses into our business?"

"One step at a time Sharon, let's pin down who sent them there in the first place, then let's speculate and hunt later," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice. Too much speculation led to too many paths taken and the paths were always well away from where your original goal would be. "Ok try something different here, tap into the Imperial database and cross-reference that division with active assignments. I want to see who signs off for them the most first."

Sharon flushed slightly, and nodded, tapping away at the keyboard for a few moments. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she worked past the sentry programs, but even inside she had to be careful. This was a military database she was hacking after all. Slowly, she sifted through files, until she found something. "Looks like an Admiral Fosche has been giving them their orders. Their last few deployments have been to several places in NR territory, as well as Jedi... and Sith holdings..."

Xan raised an eyebrow at that. An admiral would be pretty high on the rank chain to send a black ops unit on various assignments. so whatever he was doing was not really his own choice, rather top-down orders. But who? With all the chaos in the Remnant's political system, warlords were sworn into positions one week and executed or in civil wars the next. " Wasn't Fosche last stationed at Nirauan on diplomatic duty with the Ascendancy?" he asked aloud.

Sharon blinked, "He was... It seems a bit odd that he goes from a diplomatic tour to Intelligence..."

Xan shook his head and moaned. "This is giving me nightmares already, but here we go. One last check of things. See if you can find anything as to why he was suddenly pulled from Nirauan. It may mean a deeper trip into the firewalls but We won't get blue flagged on this. We're routing through systems the Rat cans never touch." He caught a look on Sharon's face and explained, "My master came up with the term for a slicer re-tag, a tracking bot follows the slicer back through the net to the originating system. However, if a system is hardwired into multiple networks, the blue flag only can go so far as the first network on the chain."

Again, Sharon sighed. This was getting..... intense. She rolled her neck a few times before she turned back to the screen and began typing again. This time it took a lot longer, and several curses that she muttered under her breath. She narrowed her eyes at the line of code, and read further down the screen. Then she indicated the message on the screen. "From this, it sounds like the Ascendancy caught him trying to keep tabs on their military movements... and hack into their network. Looks like the Remnant pulled him out to save him from the Chiss criminal system. They don't treat people trying to steal military secrets very nicely."

A low whistle was all he could muster at the moment. So from, slicing into the Chiss mainframe, to deployments into several hostile areas and no real info as to what was taken. "I hate it when I smell rat can tricks, it always leads to _osik_ like this." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration "Log out, we can't do anything more from here."

Sharon nodded, backing carefully out of the connection before she slumped in the chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That was..... close. And not good news either....." With a deep sigh, she downed the rest of her _behot_ as if it were ale. "So... now that we know at least that much, what do we do?"

Xan smirked at her. "We get to where the action is hot of course. Desk jobs are for old men." With that, he commed the MedCentre and not to his surprise came holo to face with the bubbly apprentice of Callista's. " _Su'cuy_ Ally, is the Doc around or is she hands deep in someone's chest cavity at the moment?"

Althea smiled at Xan, her eyes dancing at his joke. _"Uhm, just a second, Master..."_ Her voice trailed off for a second, and then she came back. _"She just finished in Surgical One. She'll be right along. If you'll wait a moment?"_

"Got nothing better to do for the moment, other than making sure Sharon doesn't collapse with exhaustion on me," he quipped again and smiled at Althea before turning to Sharon. "Hit the fresher kid, and get some gear that will have you blending in with the rest of us scum. bounty hunter type, and if I see robes I'll space you."

Althea smiled. _"Just put her on a behot drip... It works for Master Callista.."_ she told Xan with a grin.

Sharon swallowed but then grinned. "Yes, sir. I shouldn't be more than....." she glanced at the chrono on the screen, "an hour. I'll meet you back here?"

Xan raised a hand for Sharon to wait and he reached into a pocket and pulled two keycard passes and tossed them to her. "The first card is access to Master level suites, Callista and I live in 338. The second one is access to the _Par'jila_ , co-pilot's chair only mind you. I'll see to getting you set up with a Stealth X after we return. I'll meet you at the _Par'jila_ this time, actually. " he turned to Althea's image and said, "Never mind the call. I'll swing by for a minute in person."

 _"Sure thing..."_ Althea told him with a grin before she signed off.

Sharon's eyes widened. "Does this mean I'll be moving out of the student dormitories?" She grinned a little at Xan's comment on the _Par'jila_. "No need to worry, I know not to mess with the systems." She winked at him. "A Stealth-X eh, not bad. They 're well suited to this type of work. Isn't the _Par'jila_ modified to carry a couple of them?"

Xan grinned at her. "Mess with the systems and I'll find a toothbrush and let you clean all the fresher in the men's main gym just cause I can." he stated while thinking, _'She's sounding like us now, dear Force are we all that bad? Next thing you know, she'll tell me she's Corellian.'_ Xan though nodded to her last statement. "Hull docking clamps. but the payload is off, it's only one Stealth X and my _Bes'uliik_."

Sharon blinked. "Yes, Sir. Though wouldn't that require the compensators to be rebalanced a little...?"

"Xan mock-frowned at his padawan. "What is this? Galactic Hot flyers Weekly? Get your gear and get your _shebs_ to the _Par'jila_. Save the tech talk for later." As she finally took off he yelled after her. "And yeah, you'll see your living quarters have changed now. Talk to the quartermaster."

Sharon rolled her eyes a little, but she was smiling. "Understood, see you then...." She waved over her shoulder as she took off from his office. Her first stop was the QuarterMaster's to pick up the right clothing and equipment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Xan made his way up twenty levels to the sprawling MedCentre complex to talk to his wife; and sure enough, Althea was the first one to spot him "My timing must suck or something. Busy day I take it thus far huh Ally?"

Althea sighed and brushed her black hair from her face. "We're still handling some of the wounded from Rhen Var, but it's thinning out, Sir. Can I get you some caf while I go see if Master Callista is free...?" Her voice trailed off, and she grinned a little as she spotted Callista around the corner, pulling off her surgical mask and the pale green cap of her scrubs. "I'll just go get your caf then.." And she disappeared into the small kitchen area.

" _Vor'e_ , Althea." he said to the retreating padawan's back before looking on Callista. Her surgical gown was covered in two types of blood, red and green and it looked like she been trampled over by a herd of wild nerfs. "I take it we lost quite a few lives this morning by the look on your face," he said, wanting to be warm and sympathetic but realizing she was too much in the medical frame of mind to compute that just yet.

" _Lek_....." was Callista's tired reply as she wrapped her arms around him. "Sorry...." she grabbed a towel when she noticed she'd smeared some of the blood on his _beskar'gam_. "I don't even know how long I've been in Surgery." She sank down in the chair behind her desk, drawing Xan close.

Xan hugged her as best as he could. "Can you take a break for a bit? Or do you have more criticals lined up?" he asked gently, knowing now was a time to be gentle. "Besides if you don't, then Althea can look after the center for a bit while you get some shut-eye."

Callista rubbed her eyes and murmured a quiet thank you when Althea slid two mugs onto the desk: one of _behot_ , and one caf. She took a slow sip before she answered. "It's slowing down a lot. We handled the more critical cases over the last day or so. I think I can take a few hours off..." She yawned then, and Althea eyed her for a moment. "Alright, that's it. You're to go home and sleep for twelve hours, Padawan's orders..." Her smile was sympathetic. "Between myself and the orderlies, we can handle things." She'd only been on shift for a couple of hours, whereas Callista hadn't stopped for about fourteen.

Xan laughed along with Althea's statement. "I agree and now both from your padawan and your husband and a senior master. You're off duty for twelve. " He leaned in and kissed his wife long and deep, not caring that her breath was as bad as Goopa fish Tuesdays in the main cafeteria. "Too bad though I'm heading on duty myself."

Callista kissed him back deeply, not caring that Althea was still there. She clung to him a little when they came up for air. "Yes, _cyare_...." she said, with a sigh as her eyes twinkled. Then she frowned. "You're off on assignment again?"

Xan sadly nodded. "You know us spies; if there is unanswered questions, we look for answers." He ran his hand over his face for a second before continuing. "I found a trail of breadcrumbs but nothing conclusive yet. but whatever the Rat Cans are up to, it's no good."

Callista frowned, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him close again. "Keep me informed as you can?" She leaned away from him for a moment to sip on her _behot_ before she passed him his caf.

"You and the council both. Since you are married you got Alpha 1 priority clearance to Intelligence files. I set that up yesterday." He motioned for Althea to leave the room for a moment so he could give his wife her passcode. And then motioned her to rejoin them shortly after. "Meanwhile you don't let yourself run ragged, _cyare_. You might be senior Healer but you got an excellent support staff to draw off of. Not to mention a padawan that keeps looking funny at us every time we kiss." He smirked at Althea "As for you, don't follow your master's reckless working habits. Ten hours maximum today, you hear?"

"Yes, Sir." Althea nodded as she came back into the room, grinning lopsidedly at him. "We've got enough orderlies and a few Knights in the rotation. We should be able to handle just about anything."

Xan nodded as he drained the remains of the mug of caf before walking over to the reclaimer to wash it out and setting it down to dry. "Well, it looks like I'd better get going. The first fuel stop is thirty-five hours from here." He walked back to his wife and held her in his embrace for a good two minutes; all the while engaged in a passionate kiss. "May the force guide you well, _cyar'ika_. And don't worry bout me, I got a new pain in the neck to worry about. Don't need you to worry over me now." he said with a gentle smile.

Callista broke off from the kiss with a smile and a small sigh. "That pain in the neck wouldn't happen to have brown hair and freckles, would it...?" she asked with a grin. "I still worry about you..." she said softly, kissing him gently.

"Brown hair, freckles and a seemingly quiet and introspective self that was just a front for a younger, female version of the Rogue. I swear if she's Corellian..." he mock-growled before chuckling "I'll be fine. hopefully no longer than a fortnight's worth of work."

Callista giggled. "What, can't handle more than one at a time?" she prodded with a smirk. "I might take a trip out to the Cataani praxeum myself, and get away for a few days. Steffan suggested it a couple of days ago. I could learn a lot there, and it would get me some downtime..."

Xan smiled. "That would be a good idea, love. And if you do learn something, you can share it with me." He looked at his chrono. "Oh man, I'd better make trails, or Sharon may have reprogrammed the _Par'jila_ into Bith by now!" He kissed Callista again briefly and then scooted over to hug Althea before slipping on his helmet and walking off, waving to the both of them. _'So far so good'_ he thought, _'now to see if it keeps getting better from here out.'_


	3. Chapter 3

True to her word, Sharon made quick work of her trip to the Quartermaster's. He'd been able to supply her with a few sets of clothing and then sent her on her way. Then she'd gone up to the apartment and found her room. A hot shower helped loosen the nervous tension in her shoulders. Xan wasn't so bad - if a little rough. But she kinda liked that. People who were too polite made her wary.

She dressed quickly, and gathered the rest of her clothes for the trip, clipping her saber to her belt as she left the quarters. The trip to the hangar was quick, and it didn't take her long to spot the angular lines of the _Par'jila_ among the rest of the small craft. She had to admit, she was itching she see how the ship handled. With energy in her step, she swiped her passcard through the scanner and slipped aboard, looking around in wonder. It was obvious in some areas that the ship had been heavily modified. She grinned and peeked through hatches as she passed on her way to the cockpit, slipping easily into the copilot's chair.

* * *

Xan stopped by his own apartment to change his clothing for the trip ahead. While normally, he would leave on his armor and play the role of a typical Mando bounty hunter; after the situation on Rhen Var and the Imperial squad, he knew that he couldn't risk being identified. However, he wasn't about to go parading in the Temple with his helmet off yet either. While he trusted the Jedi, he saved the honor of those knowing what his face looked like for an intimate few.

So it looked a little weird to others, seeing a man dressed up like a smuggler walking down the corridors of the Temple with the red and black helmet still on his head. The Sergeant at Arms, upon seeing Xan enter the docking bay, laughed out loud. "Qenadius, just when I think you have run out of ways to entertain me, you go and do something like this."

Xan growled so the SAA could hear him and turned his visor to the man. "And you're lucky you are on our side or that little comment of your would have earned you a blaster bolt up your shebs." As the SAA paled, Xan continued to walk to the _Par'jila_ chortling with this small victory. But when he found his way on board he found his new apprentice with her feet sprawled on top of the controls, leaning back in the co-pilot's chair as if she owned the ship.

"If the _Par'jila_ isn't ready to go kid, I'm going to stick you in an engine hold and have you oil things!"

Sharon spun around, and for all the world looked like she was trying to suppress a giggle. She chewed her lip for a moment before she spoke. "I ran a preflight ten minutes ago, Sir. She's all yours." Inwardly, she let out a slow breath. It was so hard to tell when he was being serious and when he was joking, but she hoped that it would become easier over time. She quirked an eyebrow at him and turned back to her controls as she began to bring the engines out of standby.

Xan pulled off his helmet and stowed it with the spare armor he had aboard and ran back to the bridge. He jumped over the back of the pilot's chair with an ease that showed it was routine for him to do so. After strapping in, he looked ahead and ran sub-systems and found them optimal. "Alright kid, read your screens and give me readings on main systems if you think you're so good."

Sharon flushed and opened her mouth to retort but then closed it. "Engines are optimal. Weapons are on standby. Shields are operating at peak efficiency. We've been cleared for a takeoff window in..." she glanced at her screen, "five minutes." She took a breath. "Life support's good, and we've been stocked up with enough consumables and water stores for at least two weeks..."

Xan powered up thrusters. "Acknowledged, good work Sharon," he then felt her nervousness " _Udesii_ , kid. If you are going to work with me and the rest of my family closely, drop the restraint till you need it. And stop being so damn jittery!" He grinned. "Sharon, do the honors and notify docking control we're standing by. You earned the right."

She smiled, somewhat nervously and nodded. "Sorry..." she said quietly before she punched in the comm code for docking control. "Docking Control, this is the _Par'jila_. We are ready for takeoff." A few seconds passed. _"Roger, Par'jila. You are cleared. Skylanes are clear along vector 723x195. May the Force be With You."_ Sharon thanked them politely, and cut the connection, looking to Xan for instructions.

"Hold on, kid.' he said simply And with that, he throttled up to 80% and before she had time to settle they had cleared the docking bay and entered the skylane. Leaving behind a very annoyed docking bay crew. Throttling up that high was nearly suicide but it yet one more way Xan showed his own roguish streak. "Keep an eye on that traffic above, as soon as the upper lane is clear, let me know. I'd like to be in that before comming Centax control."

Sharon nodded, but she couldn't help the amused snort that slipped out. She'd felt the spike of annoyance from the docking bay crew. Shaking her head with a grin, she turned back to the sensor screen. They'd slipped neatly into the traffic stream, which took skill. The traffic above them was moving along at a pretty good pace, but she saw an opening. "There..." she indicated the opening on her screen. She knew it wouldn't be there long.

Xan flared the thrusters to full and made for the uppermost lane, thus cutting off a fair bit of traffic in the process. "Spaceship rules, ya bunch of slickers!" Xan swore in response to some of the gestures he was getting from other pilots. Then he spotted one rude gesture from a Gran " Where did you learn that from? I don't think your mother would approve!" He settled back a bit and opened the comm to Centax I, the small moon of Coruscant that was HQ to Coruscant Traffic Control.

" Centax I, this is Jedi vehicle JIT717-842P requesting oribtal clearance, authorization Jenth-Usk-Cresh 6519. Standing by. Over."

 _"Centax control copies, 842P...."_ a rather bored-sounding controller answered. _"What is your destination...?"_

"Check your authorization codes Centax control, classified via Jedi charter. Or are you just trying to bend my gears for the hell of it?" Xan said with a hint of annoyance. Cutting the audio he turned to Sharon. "He's probably looking for a commendation from the NR on this. Get a Jedi to spill, new rank mailed in."

Sharon grinned a little. "Perhaps.... though the job tends to be rather boring..." The controller came back a moment later, sounding slightly flustered. _"Apologies, Master Jedi. I've cleared a vector for you - priority clearance. Bank to the following heading: 580x239. Safe travels..."_

Opening the audio again, Xan replied, "Five-eight-zero by two-three-niner, acknowledged Centax control. Over and out." Xan smirked after cutting the comm. " So they gave us the military lane, _me'ven_? Looks like bye-bye commendation." He piloted the ship into the military lane once breaking the atmosphere of the city-planet. "Hyperlane in five minutes, the first stop is Nar Shaadaa for refueling then on to the Remnant from there. Meantime, did you pick up where Fosche is stationed yet?"

Sharon nodded and tucked a few strands of dark brown hair behind her ears. "While I was waiting for you, I was able to find out where he was last seen.....Muunilinst. The planet was hotly contested during the Clone Wars and backed the currency of both sides. They have no qualms about what they fund, as long as it is profitable to them...." She shrugged. "Considering the history of the Empire, him being there isn't all that surprising, really..."

Xan blinked for a second. "No it doesn't, but it also gets more interesting. The IGBC is one of the guarantors of the NR, even at the extreme annoyance of the warlords." Xan pursed his lips a bit. "So here what we have so far: a mystery Rat Can squad showing up in a hostile area; an Admiral who was given the squad to oversee after being pulled from diplomatic duty with the Chiss when the Chiss suspected illegal activity; and now a station at one of the galactic pillars of commerce." He shook his head, "Too early to speculate, but I don't like how this looks."

Sharon chuckled and blew a breath between her teeth. "You aren't the only one. So far, it looks to me like he's lining his pockets... but that still doesn't explain the squad. I don't suppose just walking into his office and ...asking nicely would help...?" she asked with a slight grin.

"If you want to find out what being one with the Force too early in your life is like then no." he chuckled humorlessly. They were now on top of the hyperdrive lane. "Prepare for inversion in five... four... three... two.. one." And then the universe around the ship exploded into star lines before settling into the familiar wormhole like space of hyperspace. "Too early to even think that, Sharon. We got too many questions that are unrelated right now. Perhaps the money angle is just random speculation when we find out more. For now, all we got is what we DO know. And that's maneuvering around NR territories, a squad showing in a weird place and no puppet master."

Sharon pinked slightly at his rebuke, and nervously rubbed the back of her neck as she settled back from her screens. She always found the mottled blackness of hyperspace soothing. "I haven't been able to find much else. He's been keeping a rather low profile... even here." She frowned in frustration.

Xan grinned from ear to ear after Sharon's statement. "And that's why being criminal scum pays off so well. Ever wonder why pirates, smugglers and bounty hunters on the top of their game know more than military types at times? The criminal underground contains probably the best form of information on anything you want. but the trick is you have to be one of them to find out."

Sharon nervously rubbed the back of her neck again. "I...see." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Guess I need to stop being quite so..... respectable then...." She grinned, and straightened her nerf hide vest before she turned back to her screens.


End file.
